How are they on hills

[thingy]

Well I had one of those things,inclinometer,but can't find it,,what I did just now do is take a level with a 45 degree bubble in it and a board and put it on the steepest part,,it ain't 45 degrees,,not even close,,but of course don't know,[didn't know either],,but if 25 degrees is hard to walk up,than this ain't even 25 degrees,,[course thats all subjective,and I am a hillbilly],,,,but we'll just have to get one o those inclinometers and I get back and tell you all.But basicly you all seem to be saying it'll go at 20-25 degrees,,I'll get bar tires for it and won't cut on it if it wet or slick of course.
Bob you said somebody has,,JDBEACH,,had bigger motors put on at factory for wheels,and it helps on hills,,,wonder how much an upgrade like that would cost? I'm having a hard time just figureing this wheel motor thing out anyways,,don't know much about hydrolics,,motors,,what,a gear box of some kind operated by hydro,,or a hydro pump of some kind?And why would bigger ones help,,just more oil flow or something?
And the oil getting hot part and reducing power,,this is all strange to me,,,how much does it reduce power,,must be a good bit,,read about using thicker hydro oil,,does that help,,or does it hurt in winter?
As far as fitting in back of pickup,,looks like according to specs the 425 won't,[but I ain't planning on taking it anywheres really anyways,,and its just 2 hours to there,,so could get a rollback wrecker to bring it and bring it back if it needed a real mecanic,,for couple hundred or so I bet? But the 425 has got a wheel base of 56 inches it says,the 422 has a wheel base of 48 inches,or so page says.
Yeah,I'm getting into this pt tractor thing,,will read more of course.
Still interested in hearing from anybody who mowes up hills,,and about them motors on the wheels and anything else that you all wanta throw in about the 425,,,thanks,thingy

 

[J_J]

Kinda interested,,,their place is maybe 2 hours or less from me is one reason,,another reason is they seem affordable,another reason is they are totally different,,,went on their price page,believe a 425?,,25 hp gas motor was 10,000,that sound right?
ain't read much yet,but figured this would be a quick way to find out,,how are they on steeper hills?,,understand they got hydro 4 wd? how does that work,good or not so good,,one wheel on front spin and one on back or what when its stuck? how about going down hills,heard some hydro drives wanta run away and won't hold you back?,,how are they balanced,,not front end light? THINGY

If a wheel motor burst, and you are on a hill, it is going downhill, unless you do some fast thinking. This happen to me, on my 1445, as I was backing up with a load of dirt, on an incline. It starting rolling backward, and I could not figure out why. I was rolling down to a creek, and picking up speed. and he only that stopped me was a tree. Lucky me. It came to a sudden stop, and it jolted me really good. I got off the machine, and found the wheel motor hose had burst. It only took me about an hour to get a replacement hose and I was back working. If you can think fast enough, drop the bucket or implement with some down pressure, and it may help somewhat. I would be very careful about turning a roll away machine on a hill, as it may turn over.

To all, on the larger machines, does the brake tender work with a seperate circuit for the hyd fluid, and does it work on one wheel or all.?

 

[SpringHollow]

I am certainly no expert on the brake tender but the brakes are spring engaged and hydraulically released so they come on automatically if there is a major hydraulic failure. I believe all 4 wheels have the brake but I do not know that for a fact. What I am curious about is this - if you have a major hydraulic leak, the brakes will come on. There is a hand pump that can be used to release the brakes when the engine is off. Is the hand pump plumbed separately from the rest of the hydraulic system such that, if there is a major hydraulic line rupture, one can still pressurize the line to release the brakes?

Ken

 

[SpringHollow]

Thingy,

One easy way to measure your slope is to take a board of known length (say a 2 x 4 x 8'), stick one end on the ground so it is almost horizontal and use a level to get it exactly horizontal. Then measure how many inches above the ground the other end is. Then using trig, you can calculate the angle. If you do not know what i am talking about, PM or email me the length of the board and the distance to the ground when level for your various locations, and I can let you know the angle.

Ken

 

[SpringHollow]

Here's a table that might help. for a board that is 8' long, measuring from the bottom of the board (in other words, the same edge that is resting on the ground, the following distances will give the following angles (rounded off) from horizontal:

almost 3 degrees for every 5"

5" 3 degrees
10" 5.9
15" 8.9
20" 11.8
25" 14.6
30" 17.4
35" 20
40" 22.6
45" 25.1
50" 27.5
60" 32
70" 36.1
80" 39.8
90" 43.2
100" 46.2
110" 48.9
120" 51.3
130" get off the hill!!!

Ken

 

[thingy]

Ken,now that was good,,it would a taken me a half a day using my old shop book to even start remembering how to do that! thanks,,bet you could take a couple of tape lines and a couple people and get close that way,,yeah it'll sag a little but,,,,will have the younger woman help me on this and show her how smart I am,[daughter],,,,,,
Yeah,them wheel motors,,must be a kind of gear housing that is hydro turned?
Well yeah,,things happen,,almost got killed one time when an 850 case dozer,,[hydro power trans],ran off with operator hanging on,,steep hill,,here it comes,,jumped, it hit a backhoe,,probably operator error,,,but they said it wasn't,,it was just one of those new hydro things,this was 20 plus years ago.
Which brings it back to pt's,,does it pick up speed going down hill,,think most things like these do,,to a certain extent,,but on some things with this hydro stuff if its steep enough theres like a point where,,, there it goes! thingy

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Is the hand pump plumbed separately from the rest of the hydraulic system such that, if there is a major hydraulic line rupture, one can still pressurize the line to release the brakes?

I think it probably depends where the break is and how much fluid is left. If there's no fluid available to the pump, you'll have to back the pads off with the adjustment bolts.

Incidentally, I'd appreciate reports from other slope mower users about how well the brakes hold. I've had trouble adjusting mine tight enough to hold on a slope, without having significant drag when running. (The clearance is tight.) I need to scope out how much disassembly/repair I need to make them hold better, or whether everyone gets some creep on steep slopes.

 

[Bob999]

Incidentally, I'd appreciate reports from other slope mower users about how well the brakes hold.

I have never experienced any creep on a slope with the brake tender engaged. However, the brake tender can be overpowed with the hydraulic drive.

Perhaps you have some oil on the brake pads.

 

[SpringHollow]

Hi Thingy,

If you want to just use tapes, I will give the information for a 48" long beam (shorter the beam, the less accurate but this does not need to be super accurate). With a stiff tape for the horizontal tape, you might be able to do it yourself. Realize, it can be very deceiving what level is when using your eye.

Ken

48" beam
distance to ground from bottom of beam angle of slope

5" 6 degrees
10" 11.8
15" 17.4
20" 22.6
25" 27.5
30" 32
35" 36.1
40" 39.8
45" 43.2
50" 46.2
55" 48.9

 

[thingy]

Ken,you the man when you need to know some math stuff,,,yeah,it wouldn't have to be real accurate in this case,but your method with 8 ft board would be very accurate if you needed to be,,,will get back to you soon with my results,thanks,,,thingy